Study Programmes 2015-2016
| PHIL0010-1 | ||
| History of contemporary philosophy | ||
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Duration :
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| 45h Th | ||
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Number of credits :
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Lecturer :
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| Arnaud Dewalque | ||
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Language(s) of instruction :
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| French language | ||
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Organisation and examination :
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| Teaching in the second semester | ||
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Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :
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| Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program | ||
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Course contents :
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| According to a common picture, the world we live in may be seen as a set of physical (or physical-cum-mental) entities which exist in space-time continuum and causally interact. It is uncontroversial that one task on the philosophical agenda is to analyse this common picture of the world, and one way of doing so certainly is by clarifying the meaning of the relevant metaphysical concepts: "existence", "physical", "mental", "thing", "space", "time", "cause", and the like. But how are we supposed to clarify all these concepts?
The british philosopher David Hume (1711-1776) suggested that such a clarification is best obtained by identifying, for each concept, the experience it comes from, that is its "empirical origin". Unfortunately, his attempt to establish the empirical origine of the concept fo "cause" prooved to be unsuccessful. As a result, the german philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) concluded that our metaphysical concepts were not experience-based and were a priori. Yet, what does it mean exactly, for a concept, to be a priori? Are-there really apriorical concepts? Why should we believe that it is so? What if Kant's view would eventually amount to simply drop the so-called "problem of Hume", rather than solving it? Maybe there is another, more promising solution? Maybe the experience we have of our own mental states - the mental experience - is a good candidate when it comes to identify the origin of our metaphysical concepts, as it has been suggested by the austro-german philosopher Franz Brentano (1838-1917)? Could-it be that solving Hume's problem therefore implies something like a descriptive analysis of our own mental states, a "descriptive psychology"? Addressing these questions, the course aims at exploring the roots of the present-day philosophical scene in late nineteen- and early twentieth-century Austrian-German philosophy. It places the focus on the interplay between philosophy and psychology. |
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Learning outcomes of the course :
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By the end of the course, listeners are supposed to:
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Prerequisite knowledge and skills :
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| At least one Philosophy course. | ||
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Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
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| The course involve a series of lectures, in most cases with powerpoint presentation. There is no syllabus available. Each lesson will be based on a short texte which will be made available in advance. Students in philosophy are asked to chooze three of the set texts and to write three short reading reports. The list of the texts and the schedule will be made available at the beginning of the course and can be downloaded by following the link below. | ||
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Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
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| Duration: 45 hours 2nd term, on Tuesdays. Lectures take place in the room "Philo II" (main building, 2nd floor). First lecture: Tuesday February 2 2016. See http://cipl82.philo.ulg.ac.be/horaires | ||
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Recommended or required readings :
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| A series of suggested readings will be made available at the first sessions (see schedule). The following list of recommended books may be helpful for students wishing to delve more deeply into the topic of the course:
- On the historical background of German-Austrian philosophy during the second half of the nineteen century:
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Assessment methods and criteria :
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For students in Philosophy, the assessment will be made up of two parts:
For students from other disciplines: oral examination only. |
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Work placement(s) :
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Organizational remarks :
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| All students enrolled in History and Romance Languages and Literature wishing to follow this course as an option are welcome. | ||
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Contacts :
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| Teacher Arnaud Dewalque Philosophy Department 7, Place du 20-août, Building A1/2nd floor B-4000 Liège Phone 0032 (4) 366 55 93 E-mail a.dewalque@ulg.ac.be | ||
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Items online :
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 | Trees of the neo-Kantian and Brentanian Schools Overview
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| Slides - 1. Introduction, Hume's problem 1. Introduction, Hume's problem |
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| Slides - 2. Kant and physiological neo-Kantianism, Neo-Kantianism and Platonism 2nd class: February, 23, 2016 - Kant and physiological neo-Kantianism - Neo-Kantianism and Platonism |
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| Slides - 3. Neo-Kantianism and Platonism (continuation), Nietzsche 3rd class: March, 1, 2016 - Neo-Kantianism and Platonism (continuation) - Nietzsche |
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| Slides - 4. Nietzsche (continuation), Bolzano 4th class: March, 8, 2016 - Nietzsche (continuation) - Bolzano's anti-Kantianism |
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| Slides - 5. Bolzano (continuation), Brentano 5th class: March, 15, 2016 - Bolzano's anti-Kantianism (continuation) - Brentano's anti-Kantianism |
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| Slides - 6. Brentano (continuation) 6th class: March, 22, 2016 - Brentano's anti-Kantianism (continuation) |
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